Bama Belle gets new owner; repairs planned

Wednesday

Feb 27, 2013 at 12:01 AM

TUSCALOOSA | Thad Garner celebrated his 65th birthday with a cruise on the Bama Belle. He said he plans to celebrate his 75th birthday on April 14 on the paddle-wheel riverboat, too, but this time, he intends to do it as the boat’s owner.

By Patrick RupinskiBusiness Editor

TUSCALOOSA | Thad Garner celebrated his 65th birthday with a cruise on the Bama Belle. He said he plans to celebrate his 75th birthday on April 14 on the paddle-wheel riverboat, too, but this time, he intends to do it as the boat’s owner.Garner, a retired Tuscaloosa businessman, and Jeff Spencer of Demopolis bought the out-of-commission riverboat Tuesday. Garner said the two plan to sail the Bama Belle to Mobile for needed repairs and bring it back to Tuscaloosa to continue the tradition of more than a decade of offering Black Warrior River cruises to the public.“We are going to repair it and then bring it back to Tuscaloosa,” he said. “We want to have river cruises in spring, summer and during football season.”And Garner said he wants to expand the Bama Belle’s offerings with regularly scheduled cruises after the boat is restored to its former glory.“We want to refurbish this boat and make it like it never was before,” Spencer said. “It is a wonderful boat. I would say it is in top shape and just needs a new trim, a good paint job and a good pressure washing and cleaning.”The Bama Belle has been part of Tuscaloosa’s river scene since 2001, but it stopped offering cruises last June after holes developed in the chill coolers on the bottom of the boat, causing an engine to fail. The chill coolers, which are underwater, act like a radiator and keep the boat’s engines from overheating.Garner said he plans to install an air-cooled radiator system while the boat is docked in Tuscaloosa. That will allow the boat to get to Mobile on its own power. Without such a system, the boat would have to be towed — an expensive proposition.In Mobile, the Bama Belle will be lifted from the water and put into a dry dock and the extent of repairs will become known. Garner said he hopes the chill coolers can be repaired, and the boat then would have two radiator systems to service the engines.“We hope to get it back fairly soon,” he said. “It has a new bottom that was put on two years ago, so we know the bottom is in good shape.”Garner wouldn’t say how much he and his partner are investing in the riverboat. He said the last time it was sold it went for more than $200,000. Because of its condition, it sold for less this time, he said, but the total investment won’t be known until all the repairs are made and the boat is refurbished.Garner said he has been interested in paddle-wheelers for years and helped Spencer move the “Demopolis,” a paddle-wheel boat, to Fosters for a friend several years ago. That boat later sank in the Black Warrior River, and the Army Corps of Engineers had it pushed onto the riverbank to remove it from the water.“It is pretty much abandoned now,” Garner said.Garner and Spencer came upon the Bama Belle by accident when Spencer and his 10-year-old son visited Tuscaloosa.The son urged his dad and Garner to buy the boat, so the two longtime friends began looking into a possible purchase, Spencer said.About three weeks ago, negotiations to buy the Bama Belle started.“We definitely want to keep the Bama Belle in Tuscaloosa,” Garner said. “We hope to offer the best river cruises around.”Among some of the ideas being discussed are scheduled moonlight cruises, karaoke cruises and even Sunday afternoon family ice cream social cruises.Garner said the boat also would be available for private parties, including wedding receptions and graduations.The boat would be in operation six days a week with Mondays set aside for maintenance, he said.The 90-foot, 54-ton Bama Belle was built in 1969 in the Mississippi River town of Dubuque, Iowa. It is certified by the U.S. Coast Guard to carry up to 150 passengers plus crew. Once the repairs are made, it will receive another Coast Guard inspection before it can go back into service, Spencer said.The boat originally was christened the Captain Ann. It later was renamed the Emerald Queen and was based in Destin, Fla.In 2001, Mike and Nikki Medeiros bought the boat, renamed it the Bama Belle and brought it to Tuscaloosa.Mike Medeiros died in 2005, and his family sold the boat a few years later.Garner said some of the people who formerly helped run the boat are interested in the riverboat’s revival. Nikki Medeiros may help in marketing the Bama Belle, Garner said, and Bobby Wyatt, who was the last captain, also is interested in helping.

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